Packet making machine



April 7, 1942. D. B. KIDD 2,278,787

, PACKET MAKING MACHINE Filed March 24, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet l April 7, 1942. D. B. KIDD PACKET MAKING MACHINE "Filed March 24, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Apr. 7, 1942 PACKET MAKING MACHINE David Blewes Kidd, Deptford, London, England, assignor to Molins Machine Company Limited, Deptforcl, London, England Application March 24,1941, Serial No. 384,964 In Great Britain May 27, 1940 3 Claims.

This invention is for improvements in or relating to packet making and other machines. of the kind in which packets are made by folding portions of a wrapper into overlapping engagement with each other and applying adhesive'bea pressing element being movable with the supporting element and adapted to engage overtween the overlapping portions the wrappers' being moved through successive folding and securing stations by an intermittently movable conveyor. Such a machine will be referred to below as a machine of the kind described.

It is known to obtain the adhesion of overlapping portions of a packet between which portions adhesive has been applied, by retaining the packets, after they have been filled and completely closed, in a, long stacker into which the packets are moved as they are ejected from the machine. By this proposal the packets are slowly moved through the stacker, the folded portions being controlled to prevent their springing apart, so that the packets are in the stacker for a relatively long period of time.

A machine of the kind described is shown in United States Patent No. 2,209,110. It is desirable that such machines should be capable of operating at as high a speed as possible and the machine shown in specification No. 2,209,110 is provided with heating elements to effect rapid drying of overlapping portions between which adhesive has been applied. By the employment of heating means such as shown in the said specification, machines made according to that specification can operate at a speed as high as 75 packets per minute, but due to the difficulty of ensuring proper sticking between overlapping portions of the packet, the machine will not operate satisfactorily at higher speeds. It is an object of the present invention to provide means whereby the securing of overlapping portions of the packet in machines of the type described can be effected at a higher speed so as to enable the output of the machines to be increased.

According to the invention there is provided a machine of the kind described, wherein overlapping portions of wrapping material between which adhesive has been applied are, during a stationary period of the conveyor, firmly pressed between a supporting member movable with the conveyor and a rotatable member located at a lapping portions of wrapping material to retain said portions in the desired overlapping relationship, said pressing element being engaged by the roller during the stationary period of the conveyor. The conveyor may be rotatable about a fixed axis and that surface of the pressing element which is engaged by the roller may be of concave shape, being curved to a radius struck from the axis of rotation of the conveyor. The rotatable member may comprise a frusto conical roller, the sloping surface of the roller being arranged to oppose the end faceof the supporting member for the purpose of applying pressure to the end folds formed at the bottom of a packet. An embodiment of the invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a front elevationvof a machine embodying the-invention, the view otherwise corresponding to Figure 2 in United States Patent No. 2,209,110.

Figure 2 is an enlarged view of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary section of Figure 1 on the line III-III drawn to a larger scale.

The machine comprises a number of mandrels part of l, constituting supporting members, intermittently rotatable about the axis ofa fixed spindle 2. The various positions at which a manclrel stops are termed for convenience stations. A wrapper cut from'a reel 3 is fed across the path of a, mandrel at the station marked I'and folded around it, the folding operations being continued-at station II. At station IV an outer wrapper is applied to the mandrel and, partly folded, the folding operations being continued atstation V. Adhesive is applied to the second wrapper during the feeding and all the mechanism for performing the various operations is described and illustrated in full detail in United States Patent No. 2,209,110.

The mandrel continues its intermittent movement stopping at a number of idle stations marked VI to XII until finally it reaches station I again where the finished empty packet is stripped from the mandrel and falls on to a travelling band 4 which conveys it to filling mechanism for inserting the contentsinto the packet.

A pressing element 5 is arranged to co-oprate with each mandrel and is operated in the manner described in the prior specification to assist in the folding operations at stations I,

II and IV. After a mandrel leaves station V, the presser element remains stationary relatively to its mandrel and holds the overlapping seam of the outer wrapper against a broad face of the mandrel in order to prevent displacement of the folds of the seam until the mandrel has completed a cycle of movements and the adhesive has had time to dry.

In accordance with the present invention, each pressing element is arranged to be firmly pressed against its mandrel at the remaining stations or as many as may be convenient and this is effected by arranging at each of said stations a roller 6 rotatable on a spindle l and adapted to engage that surface of the presser 5 which is opposite to the surface thereof which engages the overlapping folds of the wrapper. The surface of the presser which contacts with the ro1le'r6 is made of concave shape, that is, it is curved to a "radius struck from the axis of rotation of the conveyor 8. The parts are so arranged and dimensioned that 'as each mandrel reaches a station and stops, thepres'ser '5 is firmly pressed'baween the roller Stand the mandrel and in consequence the overlapping folds are subjected 'to pressure. The rollers 6 are supported on arms '9 fixed. to a member ili of substantiallysemicircular shape. This member is clamped to theboss of the 'fixed spindle 2 and the other parts carried by said boss and described in the prior specification are slightly rearranged as shown in Figu'reB to accommodate hee w r The end folds atthe bottom of a packet, i. e. those folded over those ends of the mandrels which are visible in fifigure l, are also subjected to pressure in a somewhat similar'manner to that just described above. The bar ll employed in themachine according to the prior specification is retained but need not be heated. Ifhe bar causes a partial adhesion and ate position past the bar at which the'mandrels are stationary, there is provided a further freely rotatable roller l- 2 between which andthe end face of a mandrel the end folds are firmly pressed while the mandrel is stationary, 7 Since, however, the mandrels are moved in a circular path, this further roller is a;frustoconical roller so that while a mandrel ismoving between successive stationary positions the -roller is frictionaily rotated with a surface speed equal to the linear speed of the mandrel. The @roller I2 is supported by a bar [3 fixed to the member 10.

By the pressing devices according to the invention it is possible to obtain a relatively high pressure for the purpose of ensuring the adhesion of the overlapping portions of the packets, thus avoiding the use of heat or the use of long and inconvenient stackers for this purpose.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a packet making machine, an intermittently movable conveyor, a supporting member movable with said conveyor and about which packets are formed, a pressing element movable with the supporting member and adapted to engage overlapping portions of wrapping material to retain said portions in the desired overlapping relationship, and a roller adapted to engage said pressing element and to urge it firmly towards the supporting member during a stationary period of the conveyor.

2. In a packet making machine, a conveyor intermittently rotatable about a fixed axis, a supporting rrren'iber movable with said conveyor and about which packets are formed, -a pressing element movable with the supporting member and adapted to engage overlapping portions of wrapping material to retain said portions in the desired overlapping relationship, and a roller adapted to "engage said pressing element and to urge it firmly towards the supporting member during a stationary period of the conveyor, that surface of the pressing element which is engaged by the roller being of 'concave shape the curve of "which is struck with a radius from the axis of rotation of the conveyor.

3. Ina packetmakin'g machine, an intermittentlyniovable conveyor, 'asupporting member movable with said conveyor and about which packets "are formed, a pressing element movable with the 'suppor't'ing member'an'd adapted to engage overlapping'por'tions of wrapping material to retain said portions in'ithe desired overlapping relationship, 'a "roller adapted "to engage said pressing element and to urge it firmly towards thesup'porting r'ne'mberduring a stationary period of the conveyor,'andafrusto-conical roller the sloping surfaceior which opposes an end face of the supporting member during a stationary period of the conveyor for the purpose of applying pressure to the end folds'of'ajpaoket formed about said support.

D'AVID iBLEWES' KIDD. 

